Chess
by Wondering What Breakfast Is
Summary: Sometimes a new strategy just isn't enough to win. Onesided Kyouya/Haruhi, with minimal Tamaki/Haruhi and HostClub/Haruhi. R&R!


_**A/N: It's been a while, hasn't it?**_

_**Return of the Julia. And with an Ouran High School Host Club one shot of all things. One week left until the English dub comes out on DVD. Who's excited?**_

_**I'M EXCITED.**_

_**And I swear to god, if Ten Days of Horror isn't finished soon, we is all gonna diez. (growls) My muse has returned, hallelujah, but getting the inspiration to follow her isn't going just as planned...**_

_**Alright, enough about me. You can yell at me later. FOCUS ON THE ONESHOT.**_

_**(And much thanks goes to EdibleDarkMark, XxKitsunexX, and LiKe a dRuG. I LUFFS YOO GAIZ. XD Mindcrack...)**_

_**Inspired by AFI's 'Prelude' and 'Miss Murder'.**_

_**Enjoy.**_

XOXO

Ootori Kyouya...

The cool one...

The Shadow King...

No one could get close to him, even if they desperately wanted to.

_And some girls were so desperate._

He'd been planning every move he ever made against the unpredictable masses, like the greatest chess player playing on a blank board with an invisible opponent.

_The pieces were as invisible as the opponent's expression_.

He knew how to play girls, and how to avoid playboy status. They were the easiest board to play on.

_But they also posed the biggest challenges.  
_  
For years, he had wanted an opponent worthy enough to ask for rematches.

_Some one who made him replan over and over again._

He had allowed Tamaki into his world, but realized too late he was no challenge, but truly a pawn with an over-inflated ego.

_He was less of a king. He never had to worry about his life...  
_  
Mori and Hani were opposites. A threat in his mind, but not deadly enough. They were not as multi-dimensional as he had hoped. They were rooks, only able to go in two directions.

_Stopping when there was an obstacle. Not thinking to avoid or overcome it.  
_  
The Hitachiin brothers, Kaoru and Hikaru... They were simple, but complex at the same time. A paradox within each other. They were predictable, yet not. They added their expected flair when no one had a clue of when it was coming. They were the knights, yet the least chivalrous of the Hosts.

_The didn't realize how much grief they gave him..._

Enter Haruhi Fujioka. A simple, naiive girl with no idea she was being pulled into the game of her life. She played as two, the bishops, two colours, not understanding they couldn't cross like she thought they could.

But she learned the game quickly, and once she knew the rules, she applied her own rules unconsciously.

_Finally, an opponent that proved to be someone worth facing._

She was straightfoward, and terribly blunt, but she was creative, in a sense, and she made him replan his moves. There was merit with her, but not like with the others. There was no alliance to be made, or chance to enlarge the family business. With Haruhi, all you needed was yourself.

But your mind had to be at the top of it's game.

_Or you'd lose to her fast._

Many had fallen to her, not realizing how fast she could unwittingly charm people. To win, you had to withstand her. Renge originally had found a way to win, but she listened to her, and lost in good time.

_Amazingly, she survived longer than all of them._

Kyouya kept playing, but saw his pieces being captured slowly. He was losing every part of his team to her. Mori-senpai and Hani-senpai loved each other, but they were devoted to her at the same time. They protected her.

_Like he should've, but didn't._

Kaoru and Hikaru loved her. It had been so long since someone truly impacted their world. She broke the glass between them and the rest of the world. Observing life wasn't an option for them anymore. She taught them that. Kyouya knew they would fight with passion.

_But he wouldn't._

And Tamaki... The one piece that liked to pretend, and sometimes got the chance to be. He said he was Haruhi's father, and sometimes she treated him with respect instead of sarcastic cruelty. But their line was being blurred fast. Was he her friend? An acquaintance? Or her lover?

_Not even he could tell anymore._

And when Eclaire stepped in, she shattered their little world. And he was almost grateful to her for separating Haruhi and Tamaki. But what she had done to Haruhi was unforgivable in his mind.

So now the black king and queen stand alone on the board, always playing second, and are now fighting to stay victorious. One represents a person, and the other is his heart.

_He can not lose it to the white pieces. Or the player that controls them._

He has watched all of his pieces fall to her, Tamaki being the last one to. The piece he considered the weakest has brought him down with him.

But now he can see why they all love her. He's down to their level, and she has them all with her.

_Is this his final move? Does he stand a chance now?_

A forfeit allows him to keep a smidge of his dignity, but continuing the game is more fun. And who knows? He may win.

_But he's already lost._

When Eclaire took Tamaki away, and Haruhi followed, he knew it was over. And for the first time in any game he had played, the king, instead of the queen, had fallen first.

_She now had his heart._

The queen without a king stared blankly across the board at a queen, a king, a bishop, the knights and the rooks, plus all the pawns, standing together.

The only thing she had lost was that one bishop.

_Because of Tamaki, she now acknowledged herself as more of a girl._

And on that final night as he watched them dance, he felt the black king fall to the floor.

_It was over. _

It was his checkmate.

XOXO

_**Another A/N: Onesided Kyouya/Haruhi is terribly sad and angsty in my mind. Though this is lacking angst... Just wasn't feeling it. I've been happy to a point where it's sickening.**_

_**QUICK! SOMEONE DIE! I need to be angry and emo and... and... (sobs)**_

_**Alright, if you think I should rot in the bottom layer of hell, or if I deserve to be queen or somewhere in between there, let me know with a review.**_

_**But hey, enough about me. The oneshot needs some loving.**_

_**Reviews, faves, and alerts are all appreciated. (Though reviews are loved most. :3)**_

_**The blurple button has been so LONELY. So press him! Cookies will be given if you do.**_


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